Gold and Silver
by Fifi McFu
Summary: In a ballroom of masked strangers, Naruto is caught in a sinister game of cat and mouse. vampfic, shounen-ai SasuNaruSasu


_For **Ladelle**, part of a drabble trade._

* * *

His eyes shining with unshed anger, Naruto ripped the bejewelled eye-mask from his face as he stormed into the empty restroom. The golden ribbon tie snapped easily under his wrenching grasp, though he hardly noticed beyond the scarlet veil of rage he was currently looking through.

"Where the hell is that bastard?" he muttered, storming over to the ornate water fountain in the middle of the room. Intrinsic carvings were woven into the marble column that gradually separated into evenly spaced spouts and clear, delicious water cascaded from the mouths into the basin below. Throwing the red and gold mask into the water, Naruto thrust his head beneath one of the waterfalls in hopes of dampening some of his fury.

Water drenched his hair, flattening it to his hair and darkening it from luminous blond to a gold that resembled the mask now drifting peacefully in the basin below him. The collar of his silken red shirt was caught in the spray, and though he knew he would get an earful for damaging his costume later, he couldn't care less right now.

Slowly, the icy cold that enveloped his hair and face sapped away some of his fury, leaving him only with tepid frustration. Naruto ducked out from under the waterfall, shaking his head and flinging water in every direction before running his hand through his sopping hair.

_Think, Uzumaki. There are only so many places he can be._

The door slammed open behind him, smashing into the lavishly tiled wall and causing Naruto to whip around as his hand dropped to the rapier at his hip. His stance immediately slackened when he met eyes with Kiba, recognizable even with his mask on due to the unruly brown hair and red markings on his cheeks.

"Naruto, Shino just spotted him on the dance floor, he's wearing a black and silver mask!"

They stood, staring at each other for a few moments, before Naruto clenched his fists as anger surged through his veins once more.

"Half the guests are wearing black and silver masks, Kiba!" he shouted, gesturing at the brunet's own mask which was also sporting this colour scheme.

Kiba faltered, then slowly brought his hand to his face as if just realising that he was wearing a mask, before snapping back to attention. "Regardless, he's in the ballroom! It's a start at least!"

They stayed rooted to the spot for several more seconds before Naruto whipped around, snapped his mask out of the water and pushed it against his face as he ran past Kiba out of the door. He emerged into the corridor of the castle, the candlelight winking off the red and golden garnet gemstones adorning his mask, still dripping with water that spattered on his chest and the flagstones as he flew across them.

"Sire, please refrain from running!" one poor masked servant called after him as he careered around a corner, heading in the direction of the orchestral music that was mostly muffled by the castle walls. The man's request went unheard, although several seconds later he shouted it again as Kiba came hurtling past in Naruto's wake.

"He was over by the east wing!" his friend called after him, their footfalls and voices bouncing around the walls. Naruto swore and took an abrupt left, throwing himself through the mahogany double doors that led him into the east section of the ballroom. As soon as he entered the high-ceilinged room, his ears were blasted with the full force of the orchestra, the strings quartet dominating the acoustics.

Kiba was at his elbow within seconds, panting heavily. "He was talking to Count Orochimaru when Shino spotted him."

"Shit, how the fuck am I gonna get close to him if he's with Orochimaru?" Naruto's hand slipped into his pocket, fingers curling around the small vial of holy water that Friar Asuma had made for him. He only had one chance to use it, and if he missed, their mission would fail.

"Oh, I have a plan for that." Kiba smirked and bent down, slipping something from his boot. "Give me your hand."

Absently, Naruto held it out, standing on tip-toe and craning his neck to see over the heads of the waltzing guests. The count and his entourage was situated about one hundred feet from them, next to the wine fountain. He kept his eyes peeled for the tell-tale hairstyle of his quarry, though with all the reflections off the jewels in everybody's masks, it was a difficult task.

Kiba took his hand and slashed the palm open with his dagger.

"Mother_fucker!"_ Naruto's attention was immediately wrenched from the Count and the crowd around him and pain scorched across his hand, blood dripping onto the floor in copious amounts. "Kiba, you fucking _idiot!_ We're in a room full of vampires and you _slash my hand?_"

Kiba was already propelling him into the crowd. "Shh, not so loud! I've got a plan, Naruto! Yeah, we're going to attract some unwanted attention, but _trust me_, Sasuke is gonna like that attention even less than you are."

Naruto cradled his crimson-soaked hand close to his chest. "So you're playing on his possessive streak?"

Kiba nodded, directing Naruto right into the centre of the dancers. "As soon as he smells your blood and knows you're here, he'll be determined to protect you from the competition." Several couples had halted in their dancing, still as statues as their eyes trained on the two men.

"'Protect' is a strange word for it, considering he would be looking to suck me dry," Naruto said wryly, glancing over his shoulder at the posse of vampires crowding Count Orochimaru. Already, they had stopped pressing in towards him, faces tilted slightly towards the ceiling like dogs sniffing out a scent.

"Get ready," Kiba muttered. Naruto's hand tightened on the vial in his pocket. It all came down to this moment.

All of the musicians broke off as one, and that was the cue. The strange, beautiful people who had come to complete standstills, as if frozen in time, suddenly made a break for the centre of the room, their movements as fluid as water and too fast for the untrained eye to see. The singing of metal screamed to the ceiling as Naruto and Kiba drew their swords, Naruto's mask falling to the floor now that he wasn't holding it, though they knew that steel was no match against the undead. It would only serve to give them a few extra seconds, but that was all they needed.

A tight circle of vampires formed around them, growing smaller and smaller by the second. Naruto held his ground, his sword positioned before him and his hand still clenched around the holy water. With each heartbeat that pushed more blood from the wound in his sword-hand, the beautiful monsters closed in.

"Hn, idiot."

The voice he had been waiting for. Only not behind him, as he had expected. Above.

Naruto's head tipped back in one quick movement and his eyes locked with scarlet red ones framed with a black and silver mask. Somehow, Sasuke was on the chandelier, which was hurtling towards the floor at a terrifying speed. His perfect, pale lips were quirked in a hungry smirk as he closed in on what he had claimed as his.

Naruto pulled the vial from his pocket and uncorked it with his teeth, matching Sasuke's smirk with a feral grin. "Bring it on."

* * *

_BEFORE ANYONE ASKS, NO, I WILL NOT WRITE ANY MORE FOR THIS UNLESS **LADELLE** WANTS MORE._

_So don't even BOTHER asking for a sequel or continuation._


End file.
